The University of Southern California prepares students to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world through its commitment to excellence in teaching. At USC, teaching is grounded in evidence-based practices designed around students’ learning needs, experiences, and development. This approach fosters curiosity and an open exchange of ideas, encouraging students to learn from one another and broaden their perspectives. It promotes integrative learning by helping students examine challenges from multiple viewpoints, connect concepts across disciplines, and collaborate effectively in teams that draw on various areas of expertise. Through this work, USC faculty guide students to apply knowledge creatively, navigate ambiguity, recognize opportunities, and pursue effective, ethical solutions for the challenges of our time.

1. Respectful and Professional
   1. 1. Demonstrates commitment to learning through effort and enthusiasm for the teaching process.
      2. Models and expects respectful and appropriate behavior in all professional interactions.
      3. Develops professionalism in students through high expectations for ethical, responsible, and reflective behavior.
      4. Recognizes the power differential between professor and student, and acts with integrity toward students.
      5. Fosters professional identity development through student use of discipline-specific customs and language.
2. Challenging and Supportive
   1. 1. Creates learning objectives and experiences that are challenging but attainable.
      2. Models and fosters critical, analytical, and creative thinking.
      3. Encourages student curiosity, exploration, and self-directed learning.
      4. Cultivates a belief that mistakes and failed experiments further knowledge and understanding.
      5. Fosters a mindset where growth is always possible and ability is not fixed.
      6. Provides encouragement, positive reinforcement, and support.
      7. Guides students to university support services according to university policy.
3. Open and Accessible
   1. 1. Creates an open environment conducive to intellectual risk-taking.
      2. Connects instruction to students’ prior knowledge, experiences, and strengths.
      3. Provides materials, cases, or applications from a range of settings and viewpoints.
      4. Applies varied instructional methods to reach all students.
      5. Follows guidelines of Universal Design for Learning and accessibility best practices.
4. Relevant and Engaging
   1. 1. Selects content that is current, rigorous, and informed by theory, research, evidence, and context.
      2. Uses active learning strategies to promote development of mastery.
      3. Promotes transfer of learning and application of problem-solving skills to real-world challenges.
      4. Models and requires use of multiple media and technologies aligned with learning objectives and experiences.
      5. Prepares students to use artificial intelligence ethically, effectively, and responsibly when it is part of the course.
      6. Encourages student participation in academic discussions and peer collaboration, knowledge sharing, and feedback.
      7. Facilitates student engagement in inquiry and research.
5. Prepared and Purposeful
   1. 1. Designs instructional plans that align with learning objectives and assess students’ prior knowledge.
      2. Provides opportunities for application and shared reflection on what was learned.
      3. Fosters self-regulation to help students assess their own learning and adjust their strategies.
      4. Employs artificial intelligence where it strengthens student learning and relies on other instructional approaches where it does not.
      5. Manages learning effectively by planning activities, using routines, and managing time, behavior, and participation.
      6. Utilizes educational technologies (e.g., LMS) to provide students with easy access to course materials, grades, and feedback.
6. Fair and Equitable
   1. 1. Establishes clear expectations and learning objectives.
      2. Uses formative assessments to evaluate student progress and summative assessments to evaluate mastery.
      3. Uses transparent evaluation processes with clear performance criteria tied to learning objectives.
      4. Provides specific, regular, and timely feedback tied to performance criteria.
      5. Maintains reasonable course policies that are applied uniformly and fairly.
7. Evidence-Based
8. 1. 1. Uses results from formative and summative peer and student teaching evaluations to inform teaching practice.
      2. Demonstrates effectiveness of instruction through measures of student mastery of learning objectives.
      3. Pursues continuous improvement of teaching and course design through application of research-based best practices.